Retirement of Mrs Ferguson
Mrs Ferguson has given her all in her role at Kilgraston for 26 years. After two decades as a Junior Years class teacher, her nurturing approach to helping learners to fulfil their academic potential made her move into Support for Learning a natural and highly successful one.
Pam looks after pupils and colleagues as if they were members of her own family and, in this way, she epitomises the Kilgraston spirit. Her warmth and goodness have made her an immensely popular teacher; pupils bring to her their life stories and worries as well as their academic concerns and achievements, knowing that all will be met with the same degree of conscientious care and respect.
The young people who work with Pam innately understand that her interest in their academic success and wellbeing is genuine and deep, and they thrive under her guidance. Pam’s generosity with her affection and time and her determination to see the best in everyone have made her an incredible teacher, an indispensable colleague and an invaluable friend.
We wish you well Mrs Ferguson and we shall miss you.
Kilgraston’s Mrs Saunders is retiring
It is with great sadness for us that Mrs Saunders has decided to retire after 26 years at Kilgraston. For all of us who have worked with her in either capacity as pupil or colleague, we all share this truly privileged position to have known her and witnessed the everyday acts that make her an astonishing educator and person.
She subverts all notions of the tired retiree needing to be put out to pasture. The perfect example of this was right at the end of last academic year when the teaching staff were exhausted from rounds of internal assessments yet Mrs Saunders was the epitome of creative power leading the entire school to transform glass square into an art installation that expressed our concerns about the climate emergency.
We will remember everything Mrs Saunders has said. All of it brilliant.
We will remember everything she did. All of it equally brilliant too.
But more than anything, we will remember how she made us feel.
Ms Hall, Kilgraston’s Head of English and friend of Mrs Saunders
A longer length version of this will appear in the next Cor Unum, our annual school magazine. which will be published later this year. Sign up to our mailing list here.
One of our longest-serving members of staff set for retirement
At the end of this month, Kilgraston is saying a fond farewell to one of our most recognised and longest-serving members of staff, Mrs Lillian Friars, who is retiring. Lillian has worked at Kilgraston for 30 years and has seen many changes.
Lillian said: “When I first started working at Kilgraston, the Grange was just being renovated. There was no equestrian centre, it was just fields full of sheep. There was no science centre or swimming pool either. I’ve worked with five Kilgraston Heads and it has changed a lot but what hasn’t changed is the sense of family in the school.”
In 1992, Lillian initially started working in the school’s laundry which, as every pupil knows, is a vitally important role. She worked her way up and is now Housekeeping Supervisor, managing a team of ten who collectively keep our extensive school buildings – and our boarders - looking spick and span throughout the year, both in and outside of term-time.
Lillian said: “Kilgraston has been a big part of my life for so long, it’s a great place and it’s the sense of family which keeps people working here. I am looking forward to retiring though and to travelling but I will miss the food from the catering team, in particular Helen’s soups which are simply delicious.”
We wish Lillian all the best in her retirement – do send us postcards!
Kilgraston longest-serving staff
Whilst Kilgraston celebrates an important birthday in 2020, we are also celebrating some of Kilgraston’s longest-serving staff.
Amongst those who have worked here the longest, is Kilgraston’s Deputy Head, Mrs Carol Ann Lund, who has been teaching at Kilgraston since 1989. Head of Classics, Mrs Annie Bluett, started in 1991, teaching French and English before becoming a Housemistress for ten years and then became Head of Modern Languages. She said: “Kilgraston has given me my whole career and educated my children.”
Also celebrating long service is Support for Learning teacher, Mrs Pam Ferguson who started in the Junior Years School on supply for four weeks and has just started her 25th year at Kilgraston. She said: “I’ve got so many wonderful memories of Kilgraston and our amazing pupils. I particularly loved seeing a photo of Georgina Futong with Hilary Clinton during the last Presidential election in the USA. Having taught her in Reception and Lower First, I always knew that she would do something special and different. “
Junior Years School Secretary, Ms Trish Stack is another one of our longest-serving members of staff. She started at Kilgraston in 1997 as a Receptionist. She said: “From when I started, the staff and pupils were really wonderful to work with and have absolutely loved it ever since. Working with children is something I never envisaged and it makes my role unlike any other standard admin role and I think it’s pretty special.”
Our Head of Housekeeping, Mrs Lillian Friars is another one of Kilgraston’s longest serving staff, starting in 1993. Lillian said: “When I started working here, there were still a number of nuns working in the school so it has changed a lot over the years. But one thing that hasn’t changed is that Kilgraston is still a wonderful place to work.”